Video poker game

ABSTRACT

The player makes a wager for a first hand and a wager for a second hand and the player then has displayed to him a first hand. The player selects which cards to hold and the unheld cards are discarded from the first hand and placed as the starting cards in the second hand. Replacement cards are displayed into the first hand to create a final first hand. Additional cards are displayed into the second hand to create a final second hand. The poker hand ranking of each hand is determined and the player receives a payout for any winning hand combination that is achieved in the final first hand and in the final second hand. The amount of the payout is based on a pay table and the amount wagered by the player.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001] This application is based on Provisional Application, Serial No.60/462,360, filed Apr. 11, 2003, entitled “Video Poker Game.”

[0002] This invention relates primarily to video poker games, and moreparticularly to video poker games in which the cards that are discardedfrom the initial hand are used in a second hand.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0003] Video poker that is played on an electronic video poker gamingmachine is designed to replicate the play of a hand of poker. Typically,the player is not playing against any other player's hands or against adealer's hand; the player is simply attempting to achieve the highestranking poker hand possible from the cards displayed to the player. Thehigher the ranking of the poker hand achieved by the player, the greaterthe player's winnings based on the number of coins, tokens or creditswagered by the player. Typically, a payout schedule is posted on thegaming machine to advise the player of the payoffs available for certainwinning card combinations.

[0004] The forerunner of all electronic video poker gaming machines isthe video Draw Poker machine that deals cards from a standard fifty-twocard poker deck and displays a single five card hand to the player. Theplayer then selects which of the five cards he wishes to hold (ordiscard depending on the format of the gaming machine). The draw pokermachine then displays replacement cards for the cards the player hasdiscarded. The player wins or loses based on conventional poker handrankings for the resulting five card hand. In video Draw Poker, theconventional poker hand rankings that are winning combinations are aRoyal Flush, a Straight Flush, a Four of a Kind, a Full House, a Flush,a Straight, a Three of a Kind, a Two Pair and a Pair of Jacks or Better.A payout table is established based on the number of coins wagered bythe player and the type of poker hand achieved.

[0005] The classic draw poker machine has been modified to use Jokers aswild cards or to use Deuces (or even other cards) as wild cards. “JokersWild” and “Deuces Wild” draw poker still display to the player a singlefive card hand and allow the player to discard unwanted cards andreceive replacement cards. The payout table is modified to recognize thediffering odds for achieving various poker hands when wild cards areinvolved. Furthermore, different poker hand rankings are used in the paytable to recognize different winning combinations that can be achievedusing wild cards.

[0006] There are many poker formats used in video poker. The pokerformats can be used in both draw poker games and stud poker games. Thesepoker game formats include Jacks (or even Tens) or Better Draw Poker,Bonus Poker, Double Bonus Poker, Double Double Bonus Poker, Super DoubleBonus Poker, Triple Bonus Poker, Deuces Wild Poker, Jokers Wild Poker,Deuces and Jokers Wild Poker, etc. Many electronic video poker gamingmachines are provided with a menu so that the player can indicate hischoice of the poker game format that the player wishes to play and theplayer then makes his wager based on upon that choice of poker gameformat. Each poker format has its own pay table associated therewith andeach poker format can be adapted to both video stud poker games andvideo draw poker games.

[0007] It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronicvideo poker game that provides the player with two hands of drawpoker—each hand having its own wager allocated thereto. The discardsfrom the first hand are used as the starting cards for the second hand.

[0008] It is a feature of the present invention to provide a draw pokergame with an initial first hand and a second hand. The player makes afirst wager that applies to the first hand and the player makes a secondwager that applies to the second hand. An initial first hand isdisplayed to the player. The player selects which cards to discard fromthe first hand and receives replacement cards for the discarded cards toform a final first hand. The discarded cards are used as the startingcards in the second hand and additional cards are displayed to thesecond hand to form a final second hand. Winning card combinations inthe first hand and the second hand receives awards based on a pay tableand the amount wagered by the player on each hand.

[0009] It is an advantage of the present invention that the player isprovided with multiple hands and multiple chances to win awards.

[0010] Other objects, features and advantages of the present inventionwill become apparent from a consideration of the following detaileddescription.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0011] The game of the present invention is a modification to aconventional video poker game. The player makes a wager for a first handand a wager for a second hand and the player then has displayed to himan initial first hand. Alternatively, the player may make only a singlewager at the start of the play of the hand, which wager will apply toboth hands and is allocated between both hands. The player selects whichcards to hold and the unheld cards are discarded from the first hand andplaced as the starting cards in the second hand.

[0012] Replacement cards are displayed into the first hand to create afinal first hand. Additional cards are displayed into the second hand tocreate a final second hand. The poker hand ranking of each hand isdetermined and the player receives a payout for any winning handcombination that is achieved in the final first hand and in the finalsecond hand. The amount of the payout is based on a pay table and theamount wagered by the player.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013]FIG. 1 shows a representative electronic video gaming machine ofthe present invention including a typical screen display used in themethod of play of the present invention after the initial deal of thecards.

[0014]FIG. 2 shows a representative electronic video gaming machine ofthe present invention including a typical screen display used in themethod of play of the present invention after the draw step and thedealing of replacement and additional cards.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] The method of the present invention can be applied to any pokerformat used for video draw poker. FIG. 1 shows generally at 10 a typicalelectronic video gaming machine that is configured to provide to theplayer the method of the present invention. The electronic video gamingmachine 10 includes a conventional coin head 50 into which the playercan insert coins or gaming tokens and a slot 52 which leads to aconventional bill acceptor mounted on the interior of the gaming machineand into which the player can insert paper currency. The use of coins,tokens or paper currency is the mechanism by which the player wagers onthe poker hands the player wishes to play. As is also conventional inelectronic video gaming machines, a credit meter display 22 is providedto show the amount of credits that the player has accrued on the gamingmachine 10—either by inserting coins, tokens or paper currency or fromwinning plays achieved by the player. Whenever the player makes a wager,the amount of the wager is decremented from the credit meter display 22.Whenever the player achieves a winning play during the play of the game,the amount of the winning play is incremented on the credit meterdisplay 22.

[0016] A conventional payout hopper is also located on the interior ofthe gaming machine and is used to dispense coins or tokens to the playerinto a payout tray 56 when the player wishes to collect any winningamounts the player has accrued. Other suitable and conventional payoutmechanisms can be used, such as a ticket printer or other cashlesspayout devices.

[0017] The gaming machine 10 also includes a video screen display 20 ofany suitable type upon which representations of playing cards aredisplayed. As shown in FIG. 1, an initial first hand 60 is shown. Thefirst hand would preferably have five card locations preferably fromleft to right in a horizontal row, although other manners of displayingthe first hand can be used. The video screen display 20 also contains alocation at which the amount wagered on the hand is shown, for example,“Bet per Hand” 24.

[0018] A button panel 40 is also provided on the gaming machine 10 andthe buttons mounted on the button panel 40 are used by the player tocontrol the operation of the gaming machine 10. Any suitableconfiguration of the buttons on the button panel can be used and,alternatively, conventional touch screen technology can be used in placeof any or all of the buttons mounted on the button panel.

[0019] A typical button arrangement is shown on the button panel 30 inFIG. 1. A “BET ONE” button 42 is provided to allow the player to wagerone credit at a time. A “BET MAX” button 44 is provided to allow theplayer to wager the maximum amount of credits permitted by theconfiguration of the gaming machine 10. Any number of credits can be setas the maximum amount that it is possible to wager on each hand and,typically, five credits will be the maximum number of credits for anyparticular hand. Alternatively, a BET location 26 and a BET MAX location28 can be provided on the video screen 20 to allow the player to wagerby using conventional touch screen technology.

[0020] A conventional “DEAL/DRAW” button 46 is also provided on thebutton panel 40 which is used by the player to activate the initial dealof the cards at the deal stage of the method of play or the dealing ofreplacement cards at the draw stage of the method of play as isappropriate. Similarly, a DEAL/DRAW location 47 can be provided on thevideo screen 20 to allow the player to effect either the deal step orthe draw step by using conventional touch screen technology.

[0021] The button panel 40 is also provided with five “CARD” buttons48A, 48B, 48C, 48D and 48E associated with each horizontal card locationon the video screen display: card button 48A is associated with the leftmost card location, card button 48B is associated with the second fromthe left card location, card button 48C is associated with the middlecard location, card button 48D is associated with the second from theright card location and card button 48E is associated with the rightmost card location. Each card button is preferably aligned below thecard locations so that the player can easily associate the appropriatecard button with the appropriate card location.

[0022] The method of play of the present invention will now bedescribed. After the player has inserted an appropriate amount of coins,tokens or paper currency to add a sufficient amount of credits on thecredit display meter 22, the player makes his initial wager. The playermay press the BET ONE button 42 one or more times to bet in singleincrements or the player may merely press the “BET MAX” button 44 andthe maximum number of credits are applied, for example, ten creditswould be wagered. The player can also use the touch screen locations tomake his wager as described above.

[0023] The preferred embodiment of the present invention is played usinga standard fifty-two card deck of playing cards. The player makes twowagers to participate in the method of play with the fist wager beingallocated to an initial first hand and the second wager being allocatedto a second hand. These wagers may be of the same amount or of differentamounts.

[0024] Alternatively, the player may only make one wager which isapplied to the both of the hands and is allocated between both hands.For example, if the player makes a single wager of ten credits, eachhand will be treated as if there was a five credit wager on that hand.

[0025] Another alternative involves the player making only one wagerwhich is applied to the both of the hands. For example, if the playermakes a single wager of five credits, each hand will be treated as ifthere was a five credit wager on that hand. Any suitable pay table maybe used in the event the player only makes one wager which is applied toboth of the hands.

[0026] The first five card hand 60 shown in FIG. 1 is displayed to theplayer. For example, the player may be dealt the Jack of Diamonds, Jackof Spades, Ace of Spades, Seven of Diamonds and Four of Clubs.

[0027] The player then decides which cards he wishes to hold from HAND60. For example as shown in FIG. 1, the player would probably hold theJack of Diamonds and the Jack of Spades.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 2, the discarded cards are displayed into thesecond hand 70 and become the starting cards for the second hand whichnow has an Ace of Spades, Seven of Diamonds and Four of Clubs.

[0029] After the player has made the selection of which cards the playerwishes to hold, if any, replacement cards are displayed for thediscarded cards. In FIG. 2, final first hand 61 shows the replacementcards that have been added to the held cards—the Ace of Hearts, Seven ofHearts and Jack of Hearts.

[0030] The replacement cards are dealt from the depleted forty-sevencard deck which comprises the original fifty-two card deck minus thefive initially dealt cards. The player is paid for any winning pokerhand ranking achieved in final first hand 61 based on a pay table as isconventional in video poker.

[0031] For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the player has improved his handafter the draw step and final first hand 61 comprises a Three-of-a-Kind.This would be a winning poker hand ranking using a conventional DrawPoker game format. Table 1 shows a suitable pay table that can be usedfor a Draw Poker game format. TABLE 1 JACKS OR BETTER DRAW POKER NUMBEROF COINS WAGERED POKER HAND RANKING 1 2 3 4 5 ROYAL FLUSH 250 500 7501000 4000 STRAIGHT FLUSH 50 100 150 200 250 FOUR-OF-A-KIND 25 50 75 100125 FULL HOUSE 8 16 24 32 40 FLUSH 5 10 15 20 25 STRAIGHT 4 8 12 16 20THREE-OF-A-KIND 3 6 9 12 15 TWO PAIR 2 4 6 8 10 JACKS OR BETTER 1 2 3 45

[0032] Assuming the player wagered five credits on the hand, the playerwould be awarded fifteen credits for achieving a Three-of-a-Kind.

[0033] The second hand 70 is now completed by displaying additionalcards into second hand 70 so that this hand now has five cards. Theseadditional cards are dealt from the depleted card deck which comprisesthe original fifty-two card deck minus the five initially dealt cardsand minus whatever replacement cards were displayed into the final firsthand 61. The player is paid for any winning poker hand ranking achievedin final second hand 70 based on a pay table as is conventional in videopoker.

[0034] For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the player has displayed intothe second hand 70 as additional cards the Four of Hearts and the Sevenof Clubs which results in a final second hand having a poker handranking of Two Pair.

[0035] This would be a winning poker hand ranking using a conventionalDraw Poker game format. Using Table 1 as a suitable pay table the playerwould receive a payout of ten credits if the second wager was fivecredits.

[0036] While the example of the method of play described above is shownin conjunction with a regular Draw Poker format, the method of play ofthe present invention can also be applied to any other variation of drawpoker, such as Tens or Better Draw Poker, Bonus Poker, Double BonusPoker, Double Double Bonus Poker, Super Double Bonus Poker, Triple BonusPoker, Deuces Wild Poker, Jokers Wild Poker, Deuces and Jokers WildPoker, etc. Each of these video poker variations uses variousarrangements of poker hand rankings as winning combinations. In thepreferred embodiment of the present invention, a standard fifty-two carddeck of playing cards is used. One or more cards may also be designatedas wild cards for the various wild card poker formats and, additionally,one or more Jokers may be added to the deck of cards and the Jokers maythen be used as wild cards for the Joker poker formats.

[0037] The method of play of the present invention may be applied toother poker variations such as three card poker, four card poker, sixcard poker, seven card poker or an even higher number of cards in apoker hand. Winning hand combinations are provided for each type ofpoker hand and a suitable pay table is presented to the player dependingon how many cards will be in the final hand.

[0038] Any suitable pay table may be used and would be associated withthe poker format being used by the player. As is known to those skilledin the art, pay tables are calculated based on the probability of thevarious winning card combinations occurring and the desired overall gamereturn to be offered by the gaming establishment to the player.

[0039] While the invention has been illustrated with respect to severalspecific embodiments thereof, these embodiments should be considered asillustrative rather than limiting. Various modifications and additionsmay be made and will be apparent to those skilled in the art.Accordingly, the invention should not be limited by the foregoingdescription, but rather should be defined only by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of playing a card game comprising: a)displaying a first hand of at least five cards all face up; b) a playerselecting which cards of the initial hand are to be held in the firsthand and which cards are to be discarded from the first hand; c)displaying the discarded cards from the first hand in a second hand; d)displaying additional cards in the first hand resulting in a first finalhand and determining the poker hand ranking of the first final hand; e)displaying additional cards in the second hand to form a final secondhand determining the poker hand ranking of the resulting cards of thefinal second hand.
 2. The method of claim 1 further including the stepsof: a) the player making a first wager that is applied to the first handand a second wager that is applied to the second hand; b) paying theplayer a pre-established amount based on the amount of the first wagerif the resulting cards of the final first hand comprise a predeterminedpoker hand ranking; and c) paying the player a pre-established amountbased on the amount of the second wager if the resulting cards of thefinal second hand comprise a predetermined poker hand ranking.
 3. Themethod of claim 1 further including the steps of: a) the player making awager that is allocated between the first hand and the second hand; b)paying the player a pre-established amount based on the amount of thewager allocated to the first hand if the resulting cards of the finalfirst hand comprise a predetermined poker hand ranking; and c) payingthe player a pre-established amount based on the amount of the wagerallocated to the second hand if the resulting cards of the final secondhand comprise a predetermined poker hand ranking.
 4. The method of claim1 in which the final first hand has five cards and the final second hasfive cards.
 5. A method of playing a card game comprising: a) displayinga first hand of a plurality of cards all face up; b) a player selectingwhich cards of the initial hand are to be held in the first hand andwhich cards are to be discarded from the first hand; c) displaying thediscarded cards from the first hand in a second hand; d) displayingadditional cards in the first hand resulting in a first final hand anddetermining the poker hand ranking of the first final hand; e)displaying additional cards in the second hand to form a final secondhand determining the poker hand ranking of the resulting cards of thefinal second hand.
 6. The method of claim 5 further including the stepsof: a) the player making a first wager that is applied to the first handand a second wager that is applied to the second hand; b) paying theplayer a pre-established amount based on the amount of the first wagerif the resulting cards of the final first hand comprise a predeterminedpoker hand ranking; and c) paying the player a pre-established amountbased on the amount of the second wager if the resulting cards of thefinal second hand comprise a predetermined poker hand ranking.
 7. Themethod of claim 5 further including the steps of: a) the player making awager that is allocated between the first hand and the second hand; b)paying the player a pre-established amount based on the amount of thewager allocated to the first hand if the resulting cards of the finalfirst hand comprise a predetermined poker hand ranking; and c) payingthe player a pre-established amount based on the amount of the wagerallocated to the second hand if the resulting cards of the final secondhand comprise a predetermined poker hand ranking.
 8. The method of claim5 in which the first hand has at least three cards.
 9. The method ofclaim 5 in which the final first hand has at least three cards and thefinal second has at least three cards.